Insulted? Fisher is a Laker again anyway

Derek Fisher (right) has talked more about wanting to keep playing with Kobe Bryant than wanting to keep being a Laker. MICHAEL DWYER, AP

HAWTHORNE – Before it’s a team, it’s a business.

That’s the cold truth that a shivering Derek Fisher took away from his recent negotiations to come back to the Lakers.

Soon enough, it’ll be a team again, with Kobe Bryant’s knee already scoped and Andrew Bynum’s coming soon. Shannon Brown is expected to re-sign in the near future to finalize the 14 faces who hope to be celebrating their teamwork 11 months from now.

Fisher will do his usual thing as a captain of that team, offering inspiring words and leading by workmanlike example. Yet Fisher is little stung – the hurt in his eyes as visible as the few white hairs in his goatee.

He spoke at his basketball camp Friday morning, declining the Lakers’ standard request to meet with reporters at the team headquarters in El Segundo. Fisher took advantage of the chance to promote himself and his camp – a small but distinct gesture that was reinforced by Fisher’s comments.

“I don’t want to say I was frustrated; I don't think that’s the right word,” said Fisher, back in the fold after the Lakers cut his pay more than a million dollars. “I clearly understand that this is a business, and they have a job to do in terms of negotiating contracts and trying to re-sign guys. I fully respect it.

“For me, it’s about bringing that mentality when I show up to work. It’s about business – and it’s not as personal as you might think it is.”

Upon deciding to re-sign, Fisher had released a statement in which nary a one of the 210 words was “Lakers.” On Friday, Fisher cited his relationship “with this community and the City of Los Angeles even more so than the team.”

Everyone is abuzz about how much talent Mitch Kupchak has assembled to compete with the loaded deck in Miami, and that does include Fisher. He did get the three-year contract he wanted to prove himself to a high standard until he is nearly 39. He realizes the Lakers’ roster means “a chance to be great for three more years.”

And the reality is that Fisher’s $3.7 million salary for next season was part of the Lakers’ responsible spending that led the Buss family to authorize that $1.8 million for Matt Barnes – money that until two days ago would’ve likely gone unspent. Perhaps the Lakers save from what sizes up to be an even higher payroll than last season’s league-high $91 million if Luke Walton’s bad back leads to insurance kicking in or Sasha Vujacic is traded.

Fisher can’t imagine his game falling off, but Jerry Buss has to plan for that possibility. Fisher will deal with it. Yes, the Lakers paid Steve Blake before paying Fisher and paid Blake more than Fisher, but Fisher got what he ultimately got what he wanted: to remain the father figure in this Lakers family.

He will get some help in that area from Theo Ratliff, President Fisher’s VP in the NBA players’ association and a perfect mentor to Andrew Bynum in what Ratliff called “manhood knowledge.” Ratliff, entering his 16th NBA season, overcame a lot of injuries early in his career – and the “Forrest Gump” leg brace he had to wear as a child. Ratliff has his own child named Sasha, too.

It remains to be seen whether Barnes winds up stirring the pot. He usually does, and his beef with Lamar Odom from last season – the last big dig was Barnes suggesting using his son’s soiled diaper to plug Odom’s mouth – didn’t even address this disagreement: Odom’s wife is a reality TV personality, but Barnes argues that all reality TV is fake. (Barnes was accused on Shaquille O’Neal’s wife’s show “Basketball Wives” of cheating on his fiancée. Here was Barnes’ pleasant Tweet a couple months ago about the show’s stars: “No 1 would know any of u if u kept your legs closed.”)

But Barnes said on Jim Rome’s radio show Friday morning that Bryant texted him this endorsement to join the Lakers: “Anyone crazy enough to mess with me is crazy enough to play with me.”

If Barnes does stir the pot anyway, rest assured: Fisher is here to keep it from boiling.

Related Links

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.